Shoe form



Oct. 26, 1948. P. w. SENFLEBEN SHOE FORM Filed 061;. 31, 1947 fmvemz o Paul Senflebem Patented Oct. 26, 1948 SHOE FORM Paul W; Senfleben; Malden, Mass, assignor to United 1 Shoe Machinery ton;

Corporation; Fleming- N. 1;, a corporation cf'New J ersey- Application October. 31, 1947, Serial No. 783,293

S'Glaims. 1

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a shoe-making last capable of. being extended and shortened for shoes of different lengths,,and' capable also of. affording relative angular movement of the. forepart and heel part with each length adjustment. of the. last.

A feature ofjthe invention is embodied in adjustable means connecting the. forepart and the heel part and includingtwo interlocking. members so formed as to providepivotal. connection and length adjustments without permitting. the fore.- part andheel part to be uncoupled.

A last embodying this, feature is. illustrated herein as designed to serve the purposes. of a plurality of. lastsin a machine of the type set forth in my application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 69.4.,965,.filedseptember 5, 1946.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a last embodying the invention and adjusted to its shorter length;

Fig 2 represents the same last adjusted to its longer length;

Fig. 3 is a magnified perspective view representing the pivot member and a fragment of the slotted tongue with which it cooperates;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the parts connected by the pivot member; and

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the slotted portion of the tongue.

The last represented in the drawings is not one of the more common types on which uppers are lasted. It is made entirely of metal and comprises a forepart It], a heel part I I, a flat tongue 52 rigidly related to the heel part, and a pivot member including two cylindrical bearing portions I4 and I5 and a smaller portion I 6 connecting them. The tongue I2 extends into a heightwise cleft between two spaced cheeks I3, I3 into which the rear end of the forepart is divided. and the lapped portions of the tongue and the cheeks are connected by the pivot member.

A bore extends widthwise through the cheeks I 3, 3 to provide bearings for the bearing portions l4 and I5, respectively, and a slot I1 formed in the tongue I2 is occupied by the smaller portion I6 of the pivot member. The slot provides for changing the effective length of the last. and the pivot member permits relative angular movement of the forepart and heel part consistent with clearances provided by a notch I8 in the heel part and a notch I9 in the tongue.

One face of the tongue I2 is provided with a circular recess 2t, and the opposite face is provided with a circular recess 22. The pivot member may be shifted lengthwise of its axis to seat the bearing portion I4 in the recess 21 or the bear ing portion I5 in the recess 22; as the case may be, but these circular recesses are out of register with each other. Nevertheless, when the lastis ad"- justed for shorter. length (Fig. I)' the recess 22; will be in register with the bearing portion] 5; and the latter may be shifted into it or out of it. Likewise, whenthe last is. adjusted for longer. length (Fig. 2) the recess 21. will be in register with the. bearing portion I4, andthe latterv may be shifted into or out of it. Accordingly, the recesses and the pivot member provide separabl'einterlocking surfaces outside the slot I! bywhich various,piv otal relations of the tongue-,andthe forepart may be established.

The bearing portions and. I5 are spaced one from theother byv a, distanceslightly, greaterthan the thickness of the tongue I2 to permit adjusting the last for length when the pivot member lies in a position midway between its limits of endwise movement. A detent is provided to maintain the pivot member in either of the positions in which one of its bearing portions will be seated in one of the circular recesses. The detent includes a steel ball 23, a compression spring 24 and a screw-plug 25. all nested in a socket 26 in the forepart. The ball engages the bearing portion I4 in which two retaining grooves 21 and 28 are formed and arranged to be moved alternatively into register with the ball. Moderate finger pressure against the ends of the pivot member is sufficient to shift it despite the resistance of the detent.

The slot I1 is narrower than the bearing portions I4 and I5, but not so narrow as the connecting portion I6. Consequently, although the portions I4 and I5 cannot pass through the slot and so permit detaching the forepart and heel part from each other, they serve alternatively to sustain the stresses to which a last is subjected. The comparatively slender connecting portion I6, on the other hand, is relieved of all stresses except those of shiftingthe bearing portions I4 and I5 endwise.

When a last of this type is used for the purposes set forth in my aforesaid application Serial No. 694,965 it may be mounted on a stand 30 (broken lines in Fig, 1) having provisions for quickly interchanging lasts. The stand 30 is made of flat metal of the same thickness as the tongue I2. The heel part, as well as the forepart, has a cleft, the cleft in the heel part being bridged by two pins 3| and 32. Two notches 33 and 34 are formed in the member 30 and are so arranged that if the pin 3| is placed first in the notch 33 with the toe of the last pointed upwardly, the pin 32 will enter the notch 34 in consequence of rocking the last on the pin 3!. The lower edge of the tongue l2 may thus be seated on the upper edge of the stand 30, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A last comprising a forepart having a heightwise cleft in its rear end, an individual heel part having a tongue rigidly related thereto and extending into said cleft, and a pivot member having two spaced bearing portions and a smaller portion connecting them, said tongue having a slot narrower than said bearing portions through which said smaller portion extends, and the forepart having a bore in which said bearing portions are seated.

2. A last comprising a forepart having a heightwise cleft in its rear end, an individual heel part having a tongue rigidly related thereto and extending into said cleft, and a pivot member having two spaced cylindrical bearing portions and a smaller portion connecting them, said tongue having a slot narrower than said bearing portions through which said smaller portion extends, said tongue also having a circular recess into and out of which one of said bearing portions may be shifted by moving the pivot member endwise, and

the forepart having a bore in which said bearing portions are seated and slidable.

3. A last comprising a forepart having a heightwise cleft in its rear end, an individual heel part having a tongue rigidly related thereto and extending into said cleft, and a pivot member having two spaced cylindrical bearing portions and a smaller portion connecting them, said tongue having non-registering circular recesses in its opposite faces and a slot intersecting them, said smaller portion extending through said slot and said bearing portions being movable into and out of said recesses respectively, and the forepart having a bore in which said bearing portions are seated and slidable.

4. A last comprising a forepart having a heightwise cleft in its rear end, an individual heel part having a tongue rigidly related thereto and extending into said cleft, a pivot member having two cylindrical bearing portions spaced apart and connected by a smaller portion, said tongue having a slot narrower than said bearing portions through which said smaller portion extends, the tongue also having a circular recess in one face to receive one of said bearing portions and another circular recess in the opposite face to receive the other one of said bearing portions, the forepart having a bore in which said bearing portions are seated and slidable, and means arranged to maintain said pivot member in either of two operative positions.

5. A last comprising a forepart having a heightwise cleft in its rear end, an individual heel part having a tongue rigidly related thereto and extending into said cleft, and a pivot member movable endwise in the forepart and connecting said tongue and the forepart, said tongue having a slot through which the pivot member extends and by which the forepart and heel part are rendered movable one toward and from the other to vary the length of the last, the tongue and said pivot member having separable interlocking surfaces outside said slot by which various pivotal relations of the tongue and the forepart may be established.

PAUL W. SENFLEBEN.

No references cited. 

